Bennett Blames TV Coverage for Joint List Slide, Says Channels Are Boosting Eisenkot

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett is blaming Israeli television coverage for the drop in support for the joint Bennett-Yair Lapid list, according to a report by journalist Michael Shemesh. In private conversations, Bennett reportedly claimed that Channels 12 and 14 had “joined together to promote Eisenkot,” referring to retired IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot.

Bennett’s claim is that Likud wants to turn Eisenkot into Benjamin Netanyahu’s main challenger because he is a more convenient opponent, a right-wing figure whom only another right-wing leader can defeat. He also argued that Likud’s negative campaign against Eisenkot over the past week actually helped lift Eisenkot’s profile, while accusing media outlets of assisting that effort. The comments come as tensions grow at the top of the “Beyachad” campaign and senior staff express deep concern over the list’s weakening polling numbers.

In recent days, Likud released attack videos about Eisenkot, claiming that the head of “Yashar” cannot form a government without Ayman Odeh, Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi. Eisenkot responded by urging Netanyahu, “Enough with the incitement videos and hiding. Come to a public debate.”

At the same time, Lapid told a faction meeting that Bennett should lead the anti-Netanyahu bloc. “My calculations are not about mandates but about what is good for the State of Israel,” Lapid said. “Naftali Bennett should stand at the head of this country. He is a decade younger than me and Gadi Eisenkot, and we need to start thinking about the younger generation as national leadership.” Separately, a senior figure in Bennett’s circle described Lapid and strategist Lior Chorev as “bombs” driving voters away, while the Beyachad party dismissed the reports as fabricated.